Craftsmanship
The medal, from casting to ribbon.
Every process has its strengths, its limits and its right use. Knowing them is how you design a medal that ages well — here is what goes into yours.
Die-casting (Zamak)
The body of the medal is cast in Zamak — a dense, precise zinc-aluminium alloy, the standard for high-end event medals. Molten metal is injected under pressure into a steel mould engraved with your design: this is what allows free shapes, cut-outs and fine detail.
The mould is made once, then kept with us: next year's re-edition doesn't pay for it again. It is also what makes an express top-up run possible when registrations exceed the forecast.
- Diameters
- Ø 40 to 100 mm — 70 mm is the marathon and trail reference
- Thicknesses
- 3 mm standard · 4 mm premium · 5 mm heavyweight
- Weight in hand
- ≈ 80 to 110 g for a Ø 70 × 3 mm, depending on relief
- Shapes
- Round, free shape to your silhouette, cut-outs
2D or 3D relief
2D engraves your artwork in clean levels — two to three planes, sharp edges. It is the right choice for a logo, text, a crest: readable from afar, precise up close.
3D sculpts continuous volume: a mountain range, a face, a landmark, a swimmer's motion. It is the most striking effect in hand — and the one that demands the most mould engraving work. Our studio tells you frankly which serves your design; badly used 3D costs more for a less readable result.
- 2D
- Logos, typography, crests — maximum sharpness
- 3D
- Landscapes, bodies in motion, architecture — depth
- Mixed
- 3D background + 2D elements: the best of both, very popular
Colouring
Cold enamel fills the recesses of the metal with solid colours, walled in by the raised edges — the technique of military insignia and heritage pins. Shades matched to your Pantone references, flush or slightly domed finish.
UV printing reproduces photos and gradients that enamel cannot render, protected by an epoxy resin dome. Raw metal embraces monochrome: antique patina and relief do all the work — often the most elegant choice.
- Cold enamel
- Solid Pantone colours, walled by the relief
- UV print + epoxy
- Photos, gradients, detail impossible in enamel
- Raw metal
- No colour — relief and patina speak
- Glitter / glow
- Glitter enamel, details that glow at night
Metal finishes
Plating gives the metal its colour, patina gives it character. Shiny catches the light — that is the podium photo. Antique deposits a dark patina in the recesses then polishes the tops of the relief: every detail stands out, the medal seems to already carry a story.
Gold, silver, bronze, copper — and for strong identities, matte black and rainbow anodised. On the same race, antique gold/silver/bronze distinguish the podiums without changing the mould.
- Shiny
- Mirror shine — maximum light on the day
- Antique
- Patina in the recesses — the relief tells the story
- Matte black
- Contemporary, spectacular with vivid enamel
- Rainbow anodised
- Shifting iridescence — special editions
The ribbon
It is what people see first on the finish line. Sublimation prints your design edge to edge, both sides if needed — course, partners, vintage. Plain grosgrain plays it understated in the exact colour of your identity.
25 mm wide as standard (20 or 32 mm available), 80 to 90 cm long to fit every head, helmet included. Sewn or assembled according to the weight of the medal.
- Sublimated
- Your design printed edge to edge, one or both sides
- Plain grosgrain
- Any colour, classic ribbed touch
- Widths
- 25 mm standard · 20 and 32 mm available
- Length
- 80-90 cm — easy overhead, helmet included
An expert eye on your design, not a mere executor.
A supplier who accepts your file without a word is a red flag. Before any production, our studio audits your artwork: line weights that will hold in casting, enamel zones properly walled, engraving legibility at real size, matching ribbon. If something won't render well in metal, we tell you — and we propose the correction on the proof, at no extra cost.
Tell us about your project.
Quote within 24 h, the drawing of your medal free within 48 h — no commitment.
Get my free artwork →Visuals: style studies from our studio — your projects will take their place here.